Harvey Makadon, M.D., director of the National LGBT Health Education Center at the Fenway Institute, will be at UAB on March 11.

An international leader in health care for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people will visit the University of Alabama at Birmingham to discuss LGBT medical issues with students, faculty and staff.

Members of the LGBT community are at increased risk for several health threats, and differences in sexual behavior — along with issues such as stigma and discrimination — contribute to that risk, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Harvey Makadon, M.D., director of the National LGBT Health Education Center at the Fenway Institute, a division of Fenway Health, Boston, and professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School, teaches about how to improve access to quality care for LGBT people in health care settings around the country and directs an HRSA-funded cooperative agreement to improve cultural competence in LGBT health in community health centers.

Makadon will present “Meeting the Health-care Needs of LGBT People: The End of LGBT Invisibility” at UAB Medical Grand Rounds at noon Wednesday, March 11, in the Margaret Cameron Spain Auditorium, 619 19th St. South.

Makadon will also meet with various UAB representatives to help identify opportunities to improve LGBT cultural competence and better serve UAB patients, students and staff. As well, he will meet with community health leaders to discuss similar opportunities throughout Alabama.

UAB School of Nursing authors show that even though LGBT populations are often grouped together, each is a distinct group with specific health care needs.

More than 2 million older adults identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender, and they have specific physical and mental health needs of which nurses need to be aware, according to a recent publication in the Journal of Gerontological Nursing.

“Nurses are in a prominent position to create health care environments that will meet the needs of this often misunderstood group of people,” said Rita Jablonski, Ph.D., associate professor of nursing at the University of Alabama at BirminghamSchool of Nursing and lead author of the paper. “Nurses are the front line for care, and they can directly impact the quality of care older LGBT adults experience.”

Even though LGBT populations are often grouped together, each is a distinct group with its own specific health care needs and concerns, Jablonski says. This is especially true with older LGBT persons and involves issues ranging from housing and long-term care placement to home-health and the selection of health promotion practices.

Even though LGBT populations are often grouped together, each is a distinct group with its own specific health care needs and concerns. This is especially true with older LGBT persons and involves issues ranging from housing and long-term care placement to home-health and the selection of health promotion practices.

Jablonski and co-authors recommend some practices that nurses can take to improve the quality of care they give to LGBT patients, as well as help them feel more at ease.

Realize that they already have LGBT patients or residents. “Given lifetime experiences of negativity at best and violence at worst, older LGBT adults may not openly share their identity with health care providers,” Jablonski said. “Older LGBT adults may have prior life experiences, including having been married or having children, that cause nurses to assume heterosexuality. Don’t make that mistake.”

Change the way information is gathered from the patient. Questions about sexual orientation and gender identity should be routinely asked of all patients or residents. Given the discrimination faced by older LGBT adults, the nurse must preface this information with why the questions are being asked, Jablonski says. The best way to do this is for the nurse to state, “To provide the best and most sensitive care for all of our patients, we ask questions that may seem different.”

Ask questions about sexual orientation and gender identity separately. “On forms, a blank line can be included after the ‘male’ and ‘female’ choices to allow older adults to label their own gender,” Jablonski said. “Another option is to ask, ‘What is your gender?’ and leave a blank line to allow for an individual to complete the question as he or she believes appropriate.”

Questions such as marital status may need to be amended. One possibility is to offer the choice “married/partnered.”

If an adult identifies as transgender, the nurse must ask how the client wishes to be addressed. Also, the nurse must inquire as to how the older adult prefers his or her information recorded on permanent medical records.

Ask what surgeries have been completed, as it may directly affect the care needed. Male-to-female reassignment surgery patients often need specific tests and examinations. Nurses should also ask about medications, especially hormones like estrogen and testosterone.

Only 15 percent of the National Association of Area Agencies on Aging — a leading voice on aging issues — provide services tailored to the needs of older LGBT adults. The remaining agencies did not offer tailored services because they never received a request for such services.

Some agencies believed all older adults require the same services, regardless of sexual orientation; but studies have shown that is not the case, and that older LGBT adults face significant health disparities, with almost half reporting a disability that included a need for specialized equipment or physical activity limitations. Obesity and mental health issues, particularly for transgender individuals, also are common among older LGBT adults.

“Older LGBT adults have encountered a lifetime of discrimination, violence and even persecution, and these experiences have left many suspicious of health care providers and systems,” Jablonski said. “By adopting inclusive language and practices, nurses are in the best position to provide thoughtful and culturally appropriate care to these older adults.”

Co-authors of the paper include David Vance, Ph.D., associate director of the Center for Nursing Research at UAB, and Elizabeth Beattie, Ph.D., professor of nursing at the Queensland University of Technology in Brisbane, Australia.

“8 The Play,” by Academy-award winning screenwriter Dustin Lance Black, is based on the landmark federal trial court transcripts of the Perry vs. Schwarzenegger case that overturned Proposition 8 in California. In “8,” both sides of the debate around marriage equality are shown in a moving, 90-minute play. The reading will be directed by UAB Theatre Assistant Professor Cheryl Hall, M.F.A. An audience talkback will follow the reading, with representatives from The Alliance for LGBT Equality and The Gay/Straight Student Alliance. Admission is free but donations to The Alliance for LGBT Equality at UAB will be accepted at the door. The event is general seating, reservations not required. Call 205-934-3236 for more information. Visit the UAB Department of Theatre online at www.uab.edu/theatre.

“Bat Boy: The Musical” will replace the previously announced final show of the season, the musical “Dames at Sea.” The change was made to provide more performance opportunities for a growing department, says Theatre Department Chair Kelly Allison, M.F.A.

“Bat Boy: The Musical” will be performed at 7:30 p.m. April 17-20, 2013 and at 2 p.m. April 21, in UAB’s Alys Stephens Performing Arts Center, Sirote Theatre, 1200 10th Ave. South. General admission tickets are $12 and $15; $6 for students; and $10 for UAB employees and senior citizens. Call 205-975-2787 for tickets.

“Bat Boy: The Musical” features a book by Keythe Farley and Brian Flemming, with music and lyrics by Laurence O’Keefe. Ripped from the 1992 World Weekly News tabloid headline, “Bat Boy: The Musical” is both musical comedy/horror spoof and big-hearted satire on American prejudice. When a half-boy/half-bat creature is discovered in a cave near fictional Hope Falls, W. Va., a local veterinarian’s wife teaches him to act like a “normal” boy. However the citizens of Hope Falls are not so quick to accept Edgar the Bat Boy, prompting a chain of absurd situations and shocking revelations, all set to a peppy, melodic pop-rock score. “Bat Boy: The Musical” contains mature subject matter, comic gore/violence and sexual content.

Free public lecture part of campus commemoration of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender History Month.

Author and activist Chaz Bono, the only child of famed entertainers Sonny and Cher, will give a free public lecture at the University of Alabama at Birmingham on Thursday, Oct. 18, 2012. The event is part of the campus’ commemoration of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender History Month. It will take place at 7 p.m. at UAB’s Alys Stephens Center, 1200 10th Ave. South.

Bono came out publicly in an April 1995 interview with The Advocate magazine. Since then, he has become a national activist for the rights of LGBT citizens across the country. He has served as a writer-at-large for The Advocate as well as a spokesperson for the Human Rights Campaign that promotes National Coming Out Day. He also was entertainment media director for Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD).

Bono, who lives in Los Angeles, has written three books: Transition: The Story of How I Became a Man; Family Outing: A Guide to the Coming Out Process for Gays, Lesbians and their Families;and The End of Innocence. His first documentary, “Becoming Chaz,” received a standing ovation at its 2011 debut at the Sundance Film Festival and was nominated for three prime-time Emmy Awards.

Amidst death threats, Bono braved the stage and starred on the 13th season of ABC’s “Dancing with the Stars.” His greatest fulfillment, he says, is raising awareness about LGBT issues by speaking to college students and hosting workshops on tolerance in the workplace.

The event is sponsored by the UAB Vice Provost for Student and Faculty Success, UAB Student Life and the UAB Lecture Series.

Jared Allen Bash and Bri Nicole Bruce were selected for the scholarships based on their academics, volunteer efforts and leadership.

Two UAB students have been chosen to receive scholarships awarded by the Alliance for LGBT Equality at UAB, an organization of campus faculty and staff.

Incoming freshman Jared Allen Bash of Oneonta, Ala., and senior Bri Nicole Bruce of Birmingham were selected to receive the scholarships based on their outstanding academic records, volunteer efforts and leadership skills. Bash will study French and computer science and will participate in the Global and Community Leadership Honors Program. Bruce majors in English, with a concentration in English literature; for her senior honors thesis in English she is writing a novel with LGBT characters.

The students will be honored at a reception Thursday, Aug. 30, 2012. Provost Linda Lucas will present the awards. This will be the second year the Alliance for LGBT Equality at UAB has awarded scholarships to deserving students.

When Dan Choi announced in 2009 on “The Rachel Maddow Show” that he is gay and serving as a lieutenant in the U.S. Army, he was discharged for violating its “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy. Choi, who unsuccessfully appealed his case and is an activist for equality issues, will give a free, public lecture at the University of Alabama at Birmingham during Community Week at 8 pm. Jan. 26, 2012, in Hill University Center, 1400 University Blvd.

Choi, a former American infantry officer, is a West Point graduate who speaks Arabic and served in combat during the Iraqi War. On June 30, 2009, he stood trial for breaking the military’s policy that barred openly gay persons. During his appeal, Choi continued to function in his unit for more than a year.

In October 2009, Choi was a national co-chair of the March on Washington for LGBT Equality. The next year, he was honorably discharged from the military. Choi then wrote a letter to the senate majority leader relinquishing his West Point class ring.

On Dec. 22, 2010, President Barack Obama signed into law a repeal of the Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell policy. Following that, the senate majority leader returned Choi’s class ring.